Marcus Füreder (born 27 November 1974), better known by his stage name Parov Stelar, is an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

, producer,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and DJ. He is considered a pioneer of

Electro swing Electro swing, or swing house, is an electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and Lis ...

and is one of the most internationally successful artists from Austria. In addition to his music, he is also known for his

visual artwork The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile ...

, which has been shown in numerous galleries and exhibitions. His musical style blends

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

with elements of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, swing, and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, characterized by a fusion of modern beats, vintage sounds, and distinctive brass sections. Many of his tracks have been used in

films A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...

commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

, and

TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

, and remain in demand worldwide. He first gained recognition in the international

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...

and festival scene in 2004 with the release of the EP ''KissKiss'', followed shortly by the album ''Rough Cuts''. These early works laid the foundation for his distinctive sound. With later tracks such as ''Catgroove'', ''Booty Swing'' and ''All Night'', he became one of the most-streamed Electro Swing artists and played a key role in shaping the genre. His music has consistently charted, including reaching #1 on the US iTunes Electronic Charts with ''The Sun'' (2018) and ''Voodoo Sonic Pt. 2'' (2020). His song ''All Night'' received double platinum certification in Italy (2017), and platinum in Germany (2023) and Austria (2025). Since 2005, Parov Stelar has brought his music to the stage with the Parov Stelar Band, a blend of DJ set and live instrumentation. The band has toured around the world, performing at major festivals such as

Coachella Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...

(US),

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

(UK), Sziget (HU), and

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

(DE) and in sold-out venues like

PlayStation Theater Palladium Times Square (formerly PlayStation Theater, Best Buy Theater and Nokia Theatre Times Square) is an indoor live events venue in New York City, located in One Astor Plaza, at the corner of Broadway and 44th Street. It was designed by arch ...

in New York,

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...

in London, and Zénith in Paris. To date, Parov Stelar has released ten studio albums, one live album, and more than twenty EPs. He has received ten

Amadeus Austrian Music Awards The Amadeus Austrian Music Awards is the annual awards ceremony for excellence in the Austrian music industry. It has been awarded to the most successful Austrian musicians since 2000, and has been held in the Volkstheater in Vienna each March s ...

for his work .

Life and career

Early life and musical beginnings

Marcus Füreder grew up in

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

and developed a passion for music and art at an early age. He began his career as a DJ in local clubs, performing under the pseudonym ''Plasma'' or his real name, drawing inspiration from

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

and

. These influences would later shape his distinctive musical style. To pursue his creative vision independently, Füreder founded his own record label,
Etage Noir Recordings
', in 2003. He has been releasing music under the name Parov Stelar through the label ever since. His early releases, including the EP ''Kiss Kiss'' (2004), followed shortly by the album ''Rough Cuts'', quickly gained international attention in the club and festival scene.

Breakthrough and musical development

With the albums ''Seven and Storm'' (2005) and ''Shine'' (2007), Parov Stelar refined his sound by incorporating elements of

, and

broken beat Broken beat (sometimes referred to as "bruk") is an electronic dance music genre that emerged in the late 1990s and is characterized by syncopated beats and frenetic, choppy rhythms, often alongside female vocals and elements inspired by 1970s ja ...

into his productions. These early works laid the foundation for his later success, which saw a stronger emphasis on

Electro Swing Electro swing, or swing house, is an electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and Lis ...

with the release of ''Coco'' (2009). The two-part album ''Coco'' marked his definitive breakthrough and established him as a leading figure in Electro Swing. It featured the track ''Catgroove'', which went viral and since amassed millions of streams. A video of Australian dancer TSC Forsythe performing to Catgroove has gained over 55 million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. In 2012, he released the double album ''The Princess'', which included globally recognized hits like ''Booty Swing'' and ''All Night''. Parov_Stelar_Live

Subsequent albums, ''The Art of Sampling'' (2013) and ''The Demon Diaries'' (2015), continued to evolve his sound. With ''The Burning Spider'' (2017), Parov Stelar departed from his classic Electro Swing sound, bringing

and

elements to the forefront. In 2020 he released ''Voodoo Sonic - The Trilogy'', a three-part album series that combined his musical roots with new influences, showcasing different facets of his sound. His 2022 album, ''Moonlight Love Affair'', took a more melodic direction, blending elements of

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

with his signature style in tracks such as ''Candy Girl'' and ''Toxic Lover''. Throughout his career, Parov Stelar has worked with internationally renowned artists such as

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established ...

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

and

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

. He has also remixed two songs by fellow Austrian artist Falco: ''Vienna Calling'', released in 2017 as part of the Falco 60 anniversary compilation, and ''Der Kommissar'', released as a standalone single in 2022.

Live performances and band

In addition to his work as a producer, Parov Stelar is also an active live performer. In 2005, he performed with a full band for the first time, blending electronic beats with live instrumentation. His high-energy shows combine music, elaborate visuals, and elements of improvisation. Parov Stelar and his band have played at many of the world’s leading music festivals, including

(US),

(UK), Sziget (HU),

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

, Southside, and

(DE),

Pukkelpop Pukkelpop is an annual music festival that takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium in mid- to late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—adjacent to a dual carriageway called ''Kempische Steenweg''—in the v ...

(BE),

Vieilles Charrues The Vieilles Charrues Festival (, ; , ; literally: Old Ploughs Festival) is held every year in mid-July in the city of Carhaix, France. History 1990s The first edition takes place in 1992. In 1994, 3,000 festival-goers attended the concerts. ...

and

Solidays Solidays () is a French annual music festival that takes place at the Longchamp Racecourse in Paris at the end of June. Organized by Solidarité sida (a French HIV/AIDS awareness group for youth), the event brings together more than 150 artists a ...

(FR), NOS Alive! (PT),

Untold Festival Untold Festival is the largest electronic music Music festival, festival held in Romania, taking place in Cluj-Napoca at the Cluj Arena. It is held annually and has been designated Best Major Festival in the European Festivals Awards, European Fe ...

(RO),

Frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...

(AT), and Fête de l’Humanité in Paris, which drew a crowd of 100,000. He has also performed at renowned venues such as the

O2 Academy Brixton Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Lon ...

in London and Zénith in Paris. His tours regularly take him across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, and beyond. By combining live instruments with electronic sounds, he sets himself apart from traditional DJ sets and creates a distinctive live experience.

Awards and achievements

Parov Stelar has won ten

(7x ''Best Dance/Electronic'', 2x ''Best Live Act'', 1x ''Best Album''): * 2012: Electronic/Dance * 2013: Electronic/Dance * 2013: Album of the Year for ''The Princess'' * 2013: Best Live Act * 2014: Best Live Act * 2015: Electronic/Dance * 2016: Electronic/Dance * 2019: Electronic/Dance * 2020: Electronic/Dance * 2021: Electronic/Dance His music has consistently charted, including reaching No. 1 on the US iTunes Electronic Charts with ''The Sun'' featuring Graham Candy in May 2018, as well as with the release of ''Voodoo Sonic Pt. 2'' in 2020. His track ''All Night'' achieved double platinum status in Italy in May 2017 for 100,000 units sold, and was later certified platinum in Germany (2023) and Austria (2025)

Music in commercials, film and TV

Parov Stelar gained international recognition through the widespread use of his music in advertising, film, and television. His tracks have been featured in global campaigns for major brands including

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

Bacardi Bacardi Limited ( , , ) is the largest privately held, family-owned spirits company in the world. Originally known for its Bacardí brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in Cuba in 1862 by Facund ...

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

, Colgate,

Courvoisier Courvoisier () is a brand of cognac, with production based in the town of Jarnac in the Charente region of France. It is the youngest and smallest of the "big four" cognac houses (the others are Hennessy, Rémy Martin, and Martell). Courvoisi ...

Escada Escada SE is a luxury women's designer clothing company headquartered in Aschheim, Germany. The company is owned by Regent, L.P., an international private equity firm led by investor Michael Reinstein. The company was founded in 1978 by desi ...

Ferrero Ferrero may refer to: * Ferrero (surname), a surname * Ferrero (company), an Italian manufacturer of chocolate * Ferrero Bay, a body of water between King Peninsula and Canisteo Peninsula, Antarctica * Ferrero–Washington theorem, a result in alge ...

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

Telecom Italia TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.) is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples (with the Telecom Italia Tower), which provides fixed, public and mobile telephony, and DSL data services. It is ...

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public Limited Company () is a British Multinational company, multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates Service (economic ...

, Paco Rabanne and Cosmopolitan. His music has also been featured in films, TV series, and documentaries — for example, in the movies The Spy Who Dumped Me, Hector and the Search for Happiness,

Samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

, and

Traumfrauen ''Traumfrauen'' (English title: ''Man of My Dreams'') is a 2015 German comedy film directed by Anika Decker. It sold 1.7 million tickets making it one of the most successful German films of 2015. Cast * Hannah Herzsprung - Leni Reimann * Karoli ...

, and in TV series such as

Dollface ''Dollface'' is an American comedy television series created by Jordan Weiss that premiered on November 15, 2019, on Hulu. It stars Kat Dennings, Brenda Song, Shay Mitchell, and Esther Povitsky. In January 2020, Hulu renewed the series for a ...

, Love 101, Valeria, and

Maestro in Blue ''Maestro in Blue'' (also known as ''Maestro'' in Greece) is a Greek drama television series airing on Mega Channel in Greece and through Netflix worldwide. The series consists of three seasons with a total of 19 episodes. Plot Orestis, a tr ...

. He also composed the soundtrack for season one of the German series Wo wir sind, ist oben, as well as the documentary Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's.

Visual art

The Upper Austria-born artist studied

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

at the

University of Art and Design A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

and at the University of the Arts in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. In the summer of 2021 Parov Stelar gave a first insight into his work as a visual artist in his hometown Linz. The Francisco Carolinum Museum presented 25 large-format paintings such as "HELLO Mom" and "I'll be OK soon" as well as "Toxic Lover" in which he reflects on autobiographical events and fears, processing them artistically. Just like in his music, text plays a crucial role in his visual artworks. Following his debut exhibition in 2021, Parov Stelar’s visual art has been showcased in a number of exhibitions. In 2022, his solo show ''danke, gut'' was presented at Galerie Schloss Parz. In 2023, his work was featured in the Music Lounge exhibition series at the Technisches Museum

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He continued in 2024 with multiple solo exhibitions, including ''blind date'' at the Glascubus Ursulinenhof, Linz, ''second date'' at Galerie Haas & Gschwandtner in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, and a presentation at Salon Bucherer in Vienna.

Personal life

He was married to Barbara Lichtenauer (better known by her stage name Lilja Bloom), with whom he co-founded the design label Stelarbloom. Stelar and Bloom divorced in early 2020.

Discography

Albums

Singles & EPs

Use of Music in Film, Series, and Documentaries

References

External links

Official website

Official YouTube

Parov Stelar
at Discogs
BBC music's review of his album ''Shine''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stelar, Parov Austrian male musicians Austrian DJs Austrian record producers Breakbeat musicians Electronica musicians Electro swing musicians Intelligent dance musicians Remixers 1974 births Living people Musicians from Linz Downtempo musicians Electronic dance music DJs Austrian male jazz musicians Composers from Linz